Citizen Kino
CONTENT WARNING: MODERATE LANGUAGE (Against a scrolling red background with the Ugly NI, '70s style JuGo, and NHK logo, Takashi Edwards says "This is Public TV For Isuten, on viewer-supported JOTO-TV and JOIT-TV." PUBLIC TV FOR ISUTEN flips in, written in Kanji, along with the Ugly NI and '70s style JuGo.) The 1994 Honda Integra is driving to the suburban house on Mokuten Higashi Avenue, with a delivery truck following close behind. When they finally reach the house, they come to a complete stop. Sakura and her father, Tamaki, emerge from the Integra, and they carry the Simsong 3D BluRay player in as workers follow with the Simsong 3D TV. Sakura is also carrying the active shutter glasses and a 3D BluRay of Monsters vs. Aliens. The workers, Sakura, and Tamaki reach the movie room, where Sakura keeps most of her Betamax and VHS tapes and LaserDiscs. The 3D TV is installed on a wall mount in the room. Tamaki says, "Domo arigato for your assistance." One worker, obviously a foreigner from America, says, "Don't touch my moustache." Then the workers exit. Sakura helps Tamaki get the 3D BluRay player set up before testing the 3D BluRay. And lo and behold, they're surprised at how high-quality it is compared to Sakura's anaglyphic tapes and discs. Sakura tells her father, "Welcome to the future." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (OP: "Hopscotch of Love" by Lovely and Wild Angels) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's episode "Citizen Kino" ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday. The school is busy preparing for the last production before finals: Citizen Kane. And Shugo Kino, who is directing, is leading the preparations. However, before then she had plenty of time to chat with her friends... and she had used that time wisely. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Let's go back to lunch. Shugo meets with her friends at the usual table. She then asks Sakura, "So... how did your 3D home theatre experience work out for you?" Sakura says, "It actually went quite well. Monsters vs. Aliens played perfectly in 3D!" Shugo says, "Really? I'm glad to hear that! Mine worked perfectly in 3D too." Rizuka says, "And mine." Isuzu says, "And mine." Taiko says, "And mine." "OK, seriously," Sakura fumes, "this whole exact repetition of the previous speaker thing is getting old and overly long." Taiko says, "Gomen nasai." "Anyway," Shugo says, "only one more day until Citizen Kane. Three guesses who plays the part of Charles Foster Kane." Pause. Sakura says, "Kojiro Takachiho." Shugo says, "Exactly!" Sakura asks, "And what about the start of the play?" Shugo says, "A projector has been installed on the floor of the stage of the auditorium. It will broadcast the full opening scene, where Kane says 'Rosebud', and then comes the newsreel chronicling the life of Kane." Sakura says, "Wait a second. I thought Orson Welles said to keep Ted Turner and his damn crayons away from his movie?" "Only Ted," Shugo says. "The film club not only colorized the Rosebud scene but also converted it and the newsreel to 3D. Eat your heart out, Orson!" Sakura asks, "Are you participating?" "Haven't you forgotten?" Shugo asks. "I'm directing this production!" "Oh." "Anyway," Shugo says, "dress rehearsals are tonight at the auditorium. During that time it will be closed to the public." Sakura asks, "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Shugo says, "Are you kidding? All the doors will be sealed, and with the Charm Club putting charms all around, even a Satanist like Ramirez will have a field day just trying to break in." Rizuka says, "Uh, girls. Last time one of us predicted a Satanist couldn't do something, pop goes Ramirez like a weaselly, conniving freak of nature doing it." Sakura knew that the previous episode's next episode tag had it happen to her, but as it hadn't happened yet in this episode, she says, "Except it hasn't happened yet. Who's tempting fate now?" Isuzu facepalms and says, "All this talk about tempting fate is making me sick." Sakura says, "Well, let's just hope that this time, the devil doesn't make a scene with one of her agents." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Shugo is trying her best to concentrate on the production. "OK, guys, dress rehearsal's in one hour! You have until then to get everything ready--yes, even the projector to be used!" At those words, everyone scrambles to get ready. The projectionist hooks the projector up to the laptop, turns the laptop on, and inserts the CD marked as "CITIZEN KANE VIDEO FILES". As soon as the CD is in, the projectionist, a Mahiru Matsushita, opens Windows Media Player and tests the fullscreen capabilities and the files. As expected, only the video is shown on the projector in the auditorium. Upon inspection, Shugo says, "Good work, Mahiru." Then she heads off, saying, "All right, boys and girls, get ready for the dress rehearsal! Move along, all of you!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, at the police station, the police are keeping a close eye on Ramirez to make sure she doesn't do anything funny. Unknown to the guards on duty--and the rest of the police force, for that matter--Ramirez is a Satanist that specializes in black magic. And she uses that black magic from within her holding cell to intercept the police chief's mind. The police chief shows up and says, "OK, you two, time to go home to your families." "But Chief--" "No buts! I'll make sure security is tightened around here so she won't escape." "Yessir!" The officers leave, as does the chief. Ramirez throws some black powder at a cell wall. KABOOM! The explosion sounds like a nuclear blast, and Ramirez goes through the smoke and into freedom. She then teleports back to Mansonia. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ramirez appears before Lady Marilyn. She says, "Now that Pretty Cure has thwarted me in person while I was trying to screw around with someone from Pistols N Flowers, my next assault will be personal." Lady Marilyn asks, "And just who is your next target going to be? Remember, don't underestimate the girls; they outnumber you 5 to 1." "No need to worry about that, Lady Marilyn," Ramirez says. "I'm only going after one. And when the girls do show up to protect the one, I will be ready for them." Lady Marilyn asks, "Who is your target?" Ramirez, "O Lady Marilyn, I'm going after the dirty blonde who dresses like a boy. She had the nerve to thwart my attempt to get at Pistols N Flowers. "And no thanks to her, I spent the last two nights in a holding cell awaiting trial! Great Lucifer, she's the reason for this embarrassment! "So I plan on striking her when she least expects it. I learned from one of the guards on duty that dress rehearsals for an Isuten Junior High drama club production starts this afternoon. "So, I used my mind-controlling powers to have the chief order the two guards off duty, and I threw some highly explosive powder at the wall to blow it up--KABOOM! "And now, Shugo Kino will have to face me as not only a major annoyance but also a threat to her LIFE!" Lady Marilyn applauds her and says, "I wish you luck." "I won't disappoint," Ramirez says. Then she teleports out of sight. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Outside the auditorium, a group of students look on as a mysterious Satanist woman appears before their eyes. She marches to the nearby doors and tries opening them, only to be blasted away by a benevolent force. Ramirez says, "Leave it to the Charm Club to keep Satanists like myself locked out of the auditorium." Suddenly, she pauses. "Why didn't I think of it before? Of course! I can teleport into the auditorium without those charms noticing!" Then before the eyes of the shocked students, she teleports out of sight. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (Eyecatch 1: Rizuka and Shugo are jamming when Sakura runs past them and grabs the microphone. The PCHM logo appears in the bottom-left corner.) (Eyecatch 2: The camera goes between Isuzu on her bass and Taiko in her drum kit and stops when Sakura with the microphone is in view. The PCHM logo appears in the bottom-left corner.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Kojiro is preparing for the dress rehearsal when he notices something. "Some malevolent power," he says. Then smoke comes up from the center of the room, and fire comes up, its rush sounding like a nuclear blast. As the fire dies down without burning anything, Ramirez appears in its place. "Hello, boy," he says. Kojiro says, "Wait! You've got the wrong guy! I didn't say Candle Jack, I said Apple Jacks! I said I wanted some Apple Ja--" Before he could finish his sentence, Ramirez summons an Akumana that possesses him. Ramirez vanishes, and he walks toward the door, saying, "All glory to the Hypnotoad." He says it over and over again, though the Hypnotoad had nothing to do with... ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Anyway, Kojiro emerges from his room. Shugo notices and says, "Hey, Kojiro! Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for the dress rehearsal?" Kojiro then proceeds to approach her. Then he punches her straight in the gut. "Kojiro!" Shugo shouts. "That's where I got shot defending Hyosuke Holic over at the Bel Airium!" Pause. "Wait. Could it be..." She shakes her head and says, "No, it couldn't be! There's enough charms around this auditorium to lock out even the craftiest Satanists." "Crafty?" Shugo looks up and sees Ramirez above her, standing on some scaffolding. "Why, thank you." Shugo says, "Hey! Didn't you read the unwritten notice of the Charm Club? NO SATANISTS ALLOWED!" Ramirez asks, "Did they say I couldn't teleport myself into the auditorium?" Shugo says, "No." Ramirez says, "Then there's no reason to bitch about it, is there?" Shugo uses her Cure Cell Phone to teleport herself home, then reappears seconds later with a gun. She aims it at Ramirez. Mahiru, who is witnessing the confrontation, says, "I'm not going to ask why you brought a gun to the dress rehearsal!" Shugo says, "It's better that way. Now then, thou villain! Have at thee!" TAK! Shugo shoots Ramirez in the leg, causing her to lose her balance and plummet to the ground below. Smarting from the fall, Ramirez nevertheless manages to get up, prompting Shugo to say, "I admire your ability to withstand pain. So, without further ado... WITHSTAND THIS!" TAK! She fires again, hitting Ramirez's shoulder. She then proceeds to say, "Now piss off before I shoot you a third time." "You said it, Shugo!" Shugo looks up and sees the Cures on the same scaffolding Ramirez was on. Shugo says, "I could kiss her!" Cure Nirvana says, "My comrades and I managed to come from behind the black to watch things so they couldn't get out of hand." The Cures then jump off the scaffolding, landing on their feet. Nirvana then uses rakansen on Ramirez, commenting, "I haven't done this in a while!" Shugo says, "Stay here, ladies and gentlemen. I've got some important business with the Charm Club. I'm gonna have a word with them for using inferior charms on the auditorium." Shugo then runs out of the auditorium via a stagedoor. Meanwhile the Cures are using physical force on Ramirez. This goes on for about a half minute before Cure Hendrix appears and says, "The bilingual rebel against Mansonia, I am Cure Hendrix!" The Cures then get together and say, "This is Pretty Cure!" "So you think you're a tough cookie, huh?" Ramirez says. "Well, I've got some news for you: SEE YA LATER WORMS!" Ramirez then teleports herself out of the auditorium as stunned bystanders look on. Cure Hendrix says, "Oh well. She's not the one I want to deal with. Right now we must concentrate on Kojiro, who she has possessed." "Possessed?" Cure Nirvana is confused. "I thought she could only possess non-living things." Nirvana remembers that a corpse had turned into a zombie and a scale model into a big on-road terror under Ramirez. Hendrix says, "Well, just to be sure..." "All right," Nirvana says as she pulls out the Cure Mic. "PRETTY CURE VOCAL BLAST!" At this Kojiro is exorcised and faints. Hendrix runs to him and asks, "Are you all right?" Kojiro says, "What happened?" Hendrix says, "You were possessed by a demon. Now hurry back to your room. Shugo would want you to follow through with the dress rehearsal." Kojiro runs into his dressing room. The Akumana says, "Look behind you!" Hendrix turns around and sees nothing... except for six bullets whizzing by. You see, the Akumana also has access to Hammerspace, and as soon as Hendrix is distracted he pulls a gun out and fires at her six times, missing her each time. Hendrix does another 180-degree turn, aims her gun, and pulls the trigger. TAK! The Akumana is destroyed by the bullet. "'Look behind you!' was your plan?" Hendrix asks in the direction of the smoldering mass that was once the Akumana. "You, sir, are no David Xanatos!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday. Sakura, Rizuka, Isuzu, and Taiko are watching the play of Citizen Kane. They can't believe their eyes when they see this meticulous reconstruction of the Orson Welles classic. The play is finished within a good amount of time. Everyone applauds. Shugo herself emerges after the play is finished. She says, "You have just seen the Isuten Junior High drama club's production of the Orson Welles classic film Citizen Kane. "The film, which Welles starred in, wrote, directed, and produced, garnered a lot of controversy due to its fictionalization of the life of William Randolph Hearst. "It was also home to one of the best-kept secrets of the '40s through the '70s: the secret of Rosebud, Kane's last word. "Anyone who reads Peanuts or watches early seasons of Family Guy should know that Rosebud was his sled. It was his sled from when he was a kid! Sorry if I was repetitive there. "Anyway, we of the Isuten Junior High drama club hope you enjoyed it as much as most of the rest of the world." As Shugo heads back behind the curtain, the iris out begins. It stops as Shugo says, "See you in the next episode. Oh wait, that's Sakura's line. And she says something different than what I said. "Oh well. I leave it to you, Sakura, after the closing credits." Then the iris out resumes, then stops briefly once Shugo's eye is the only thing visible. She winks, and the iris out closes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (ED: "Raw and Wild" by Lovely and Wild Angels) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (Next episode preview) SAKURA: Yes! I reached number 1 in my class! RIZUKA: That's great, Sakura, but... SAKURA: But what? RIZUKA: But my father is temporarily rejoining Phony Nails Number 9. SAKURA: Really? Who's going to fill in during their tour of Japan? ???: I am. SAKURA: A dark horse as the new lead guitarist for Pistols N Flowers? Next episode: "Bullet the Mute Witness"! We're coming live and loaded!